Featured HI News Stories:
New sex predator law to get first test
Gordon Y.K. Pang
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
A man charged this week with attempting to use the Internet to lure a minor into having sex with him will be the first person prosecuted under a new state law that carries a mandatory minimum of one year in jail.
[He] was arrested Wednesday outside the McCully-Mo'ili'ili Public Library, where he allegedly had asked someone over the Internet he believed was a 15-year-old girl to rendezvous with him for sex.
Attorney General Mark Bennett, at a news conference yesterday with other members of the Hawai'i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said law enforcement officials want sexual predators to know authorities take the crime seriously.
"The Internet is not always a safe place for children, and there are many individuals whose goal continually is to use the Internet in order to entice young children in order to have sex," Bennett said. "This is absolutely unacceptable in our society, and it violates serious criminal law."
Under the law that was passed by the Legislature this year, the crime of electronic enticement of a child carries a mandatory jail term of one year. Bennett said his office pushed for passage of the bill because state judges have been apt to give little or no jail time to such offenders, even as prosecutors were seeking the maximum 10-year prison sentences.
"We believe it is necessary for the courts of the state of Hawai'i to treat this as the serious offense that it is," Bennett said. A key reason why many convicted of the offense have received lighter sentences, he said, is because many are educated and have no previous criminal record.
Just because people are well-groomed, educated and well-mannered does not mean they are less dangerous, he said. "Indeed, a very strong argument can be made that (those characteristics are) what makes them more dangerous."
Man Arrested In Connection With 'Baseline Killer' Case
The Associated Press
07 Sep 2006 12:02 am
Phoenix Police have arrested a man in a sexual assault connected to an investigation of the so-called Baseline Killer.
The serial predator is believed to have killed at least eight people and sexually assaulted 11 women and girls.
The man, whose identity was not released, was arrested in connection with the Baseline Killer investigation in one specific sexual assault case.
Reports show the sexual assaults have ranged from fondling to rape.
In many cases, victims had conversations with the man before they were attacked. He appears to always have a gun, and often threatens to shoot and kill victims.
The Baseline Killer is also thought to wear disguises. He strikes quickly, in the dark, and generally targets people who are alone.
Cab Driver Charged In Sexual Assault Of Passenger
08 Aug 2006 6:23 pm
Police arrested a cab driver on charges that he sexually assaulted a passenger.
The alleged incident happened on Sunday after sources said a 23-year-old woman decided to take a cab home instead of drive.
[The driver] has nine prior convictions, including felony car theft and drugs charges. He also has misdemeanor convictions for prostitution, harassment and driving under the influence.
Now he is charged with first-degree sexual assault -- a crime police believe happened in his cab.
Violence on National Mall Sparks Calls for Repeal of Gun Control Laws
Dave Workman
03 Aug 2006 1:22 pm
Outraged by reports of armed robberies on the National Mall, spikes in criminal assaults, and the brutal murder of a British citizen working as a political activist here, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) has called on Congress and the Washington, DC, municipal government to abolish the District’s 30-year-old gun control regulations.
Under the gun control ordinance adopted in 1976, handguns are banned and long guns must be dismantled.
Associated Press (AP) reported two weeks ago that robberies are up 14% and armed assaults had climbed 18% since mid-June. During that time, British subject Alan Senitt was murdered in Georgetown by thugs who slit his throat and attempted to rape his female companion at gunpoint.
“This is what happens,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb argued, “when law-abiding citizens are told their Second Amendment rights have been suspended through elitist government fiat, and that they cannot possess the tools to defend themselves against criminal predators.”
Problems linger at Hawaii youth prison
Associated Press
31 Jul 2006 6:47 pm
Hawaii is in "partial compliance'' with an agreement requiring the state to correct serious problems at its Youth Correctional Facility.
That's according to an 85-page report by special monitor Russell Van Vleet.
The report released Friday is the first since Vleet was hired to oversee the implementation of the agreement reached in February between the state and U-S Department of Justice.
The agreement has 53 provisions separated into five categories including: protection from harm, training, access to medical and mental health care, special education and quality improvement.
Protecting Hawaii Visitors From Crime
28 Jul 2006 10:19 pm
Imagine going on vacation and winding up a victim of a horrible crime.
Rape and robbery are just some of the topics being discussed at this year's Visitor Crime Awareness Conference.
Hundreds from around nation gathered at the Hawaii Convention Center today to talk about how to keep tourists safe in paradise.
Sex offenders fail to register
Tina Shelton
20 Jul 2006 12:00 am
Hundreds of convicted sex offenders in Hawaii have failed to keep records meant to protect the public up-to-date.
The State Attorney General's office is threatening to send those convicts back to prison. And in some cases, they already have. Six of nine offenders the state indicted last December are heading for trial, and one's back in jail.
Most of us think of the website, at sexoffenders.hawaii.gov, when we hear about the state's sex offender registry. In over a year, it's logged more than six million hits, as people log-in to learn whether someone they know, or someone on their street, is a convicted sex offender.
But the registry helps police investigating new crimes, too.
Molester Says Only Prison Can Stop Him
19 Jul 2006 9:46 am
A child molester said in court on Tuesday that prison is the only thing that will stop him from molesting again.
The confession came from a man who had been through sex offender treatment twice, but remained a predator.
Most sex offenders do their best to stay out of prison. They generally get pretty rough treatment in prison and ask for treatment instead. However, Christopher Brainderd is in an Oahu prison because he said he wants to be in prison.
Forced labor or sexual exploitation must be addressed
Most of what we read and hear about the horrors of human trafficking takes place in other countries, but did you know that the United States and, yes, even Hawai'i are major "destinations" for traffickers?
